Marriage

The Independent carried two items last Tuesday relating to marriage.


The facts of life: marriage

in 1940 the number of marriages in England and Wales that were the first marriage for both partners peaked at 426,100 when 91 per cent of all marriages were the first for both partners

in 2006 number of marriages in England and Wales that were the first marriage for both partners fell to 144,120, accounting for 61 per cent of all marriages

on average, couples get engaged two years, 11 months and eight days into their relationship

the average wedding in the UK now costs 20,273, according to a study by You and Your Wedding Magazine

doing the dishes together is one of the keys to a happy marriage, according to a survey by the Pew Research Centre

one single woman in five is thought to be stashing away money for her wedding even without having found a groom


Till death do us part: why marriage remains popular

Ponders the resilience of institutionalised monogamy. "The marriage contract is unlike most contracts," writes L J Weitzman "Its provisions are unwritten, its penalties are unspecified, and the terms of the contract are typically unknown to the contracting parties... No one would sign it if they had read it first."